Does Bioware intent to do a server merge??

Population on swtor, is now very low, i am wondering, if bioware will soon make a server merge to help correct this issue. Character transfert and cross server instance, will not change the low population issue, and wont help players who want to do heroic missions on empty planets or guild trying to recruit.

I just hope, that if bioware do a server merge, they will do a better job that some others mmos did, and try to balance imperial/republic population.

Population on swtor, is now very low, i am wondering, if bioware will soon make a server merge to help correct this issue. Character transfert and cross server instance, will not change the low population issue, and wont help players who want to do heroic missions on empty planets or guild trying to recruit.

I just hope, that if bioware do a server merge, they will do a better job that some others mmos did, and try to balance imperial/republic population.

Character transfer will solve the numbers issue because the transfers will move people from a number of low pop servers to a single server which ends up with a higher population.

Nothing that BW can do will ever solve the faction balance issue in the long term as that is solely down to player choice.

I doubt they will consolidate servers though you would think that might make sense. What really bugs me is people see there is an issue, they should report it. But the flip side is, you gotta remember that it takes a bit of time to get alterations into the game in a way that they work and try not to break something else. But since they don't you get people who whine like a 5 year old [annoying as hell] and emo rage quit when its not done immediately. No game is going to be perfect. I'll probably be playin until they fix whatever is busted and I will just enjoy the story lines and other content or the game will eventually just go down the tubes because people are trippin and quit leaving a lack of cash flow to continue.

Population on swtor, is now very low, i am wondering, if bioware will soon make a server merge to help correct this issue. Character transfert and cross server instance, will not change the low population issue, and wont help players who want to do heroic missions on empty planets or guild trying to recruit.

I just hope, that if bioware do a server merge, they will do a better job that some others mmos did, and try to balance imperial/republic population.

In a previous Community Q&A we talked about character transfers, and announced that they were coming in early summer. Character transfers are a complex process, but we're almost ready to go. Starting next week on June 12th, 2012, we’re allowing character transfers to occur between selected servers in order to provide a better gameplay experience for our players by ensuring population balance across the service.

Game Update 1.3 is focused around group content, with the Group Finder designed to help you enjoy Flashpoints, Operations and Heroic Missions in groups. However, we know that a Group Finder can only work when there is a large pool of players to draw from on a server. That's why the new Character Transfer Service is important: it will improve the overall player experience by facilitating maximized server populations across the service.

How will it work?

Initially we considered allowing players to transfer to any server they wished, or to a variety of different servers. However, on a massive scale, this free-for-all approach causes potential problems. Players who are anxious to ensure they end up on a heavily populated server will naturally flock to what is perceived as the 'biggest' server, potentially over-populating that server. This eventually leads to the exact situation we're trying to move away from. Our aim is to maximize server population across the entire service and to enhance the gameplay experience for our players.

Therefore, we made the decision to strictly limit the initial phase of the Character Transfer Service to only allow transfers from selected groups of origin servers (where you're moving a character from) to selected individual destination servers (where you choose to move a character to) based on the player populations of the origin and destination servers. In some cases, a large number of origin servers will be eligible to move to a single destination server. In others, very few origin servers will be transferring to existing high population destination servers. Remember, the goal here is to push almost every destination server to an active population that's higher.

This process will be gradual and staged over time. Despite huge improvements being made to the Character Transfer Service by our server team, there are millions of characters to be moved and there is a limit to how many can be moved daily. We want your character to be transferred as quickly as possible, but we will need you to be patient as the process completes. Once your transfer starts we estimate it will complete in a few hours, but with the potential volume of transfers occurring, you may find your character is queued for transfer for a while as we deal with the high volume.

We're sure many of you are interested to learn which servers are eligible for outgoing transfers and which servers are eligible to receive transfers. However, because the process will be gradual, we cannot provide that information in advance. Depending on the number of characters transferred, the destination and origin servers eligible for transfer may be altered during the process. We don't want to promise a destination in case it may change. Listings will become available as servers become eligible for transfer. We can tell you that all server types and languages will be respected. You will not find your PvE characters transferred to a PvP server, or vice versa!

There are also some restrictions to this character transfer process , which will be more fully detailed in a forthcoming FAQ. For those who have unlocked Legacy abilities, your Legacy will be transferred to your new server and your unlocks will be available there too. If you have already unlocked your Legacy on your destination server, the higher level Legacy will take precedence. For guild members and masters, you will not be able to transfer your guild as a whole to your new server; instead you will need to reform it. If you have a guild bank, it will be re-granted to your new guild on your destination server by Customer Service. This is not an automatic process and you will have to contact Customer Service directly. If your transferred character’s name conflicts with an existing name on a destination server, you will be asked to rename your character. In the case of Legacy names, unless you have unlocked your Legacy on your destination server, you will need to rename your Legacy upon transfer (although you may pick the same Legacy name as on your origin server, if available).

The next step

We believe that by carefully allowing character transfer between select origin and destination servers, players will have a healthier gameplay experience. With the Group Finder available in Game Update 1.3, we intend for players to be able to easily assemble full groups for all sorts of content.

We understand that some of you may be looking to consolidate characters from a variety of origin servers onto one server, and others may be anxious to move to a specific server to be with friends. With the restrictions of this initial service, that may not be possible. We still believe that you will enjoy playing on a higher population server and hope you'll take advantage of the service, but you won't be forced to transfer. Future versions of the Character Transfer Service may allow more options in your choice of destination servers and may require a transfer fee. While we do not have a scheduled time frame for the launch of such a service, we are committed to making improvements to the Character Transfer Service over time to provide players with a great gameplay experience. Stay tuned to www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com for more details!

Summary

We've been working as fast as we can to create a viable Character Transfer Service and we appreciate your patience as we've worked to create it. The good news is that the wait is almost over. We're in the final stretch of testing the service, and our release is now June 12th, 2012. Game Update 1.3 will be along not too long afterwards. We hope that the character transfer and the Group Finder will help everyone experience the full array of content available in Star Wars™: The Old Republic™.

The Star Wars: The Old Republic Community Team

FROM DEV TRACKER

-We'll be providing a list of origin servers and destination servers. Each origin server will have one destination server, and players can elect to transfer their characters from the origin server to the destination. Our goal is to have destination servers with a much higher active player population, so we'll be monitoring the process and adding new origin and destination pairs as necessary to reach that goal.

-We haven't finalized the initial list of origin and destination servers. We know everyone is eager to see them, and we will provide them when we're able - we don't want to provide a list and then have to change it.

-Right now, we're just talking about the free character transfers - like it mentions in the blog, more options may become available in the future, but that's all we've said as of now.

-What we're saying here is that we're unable to provide the origins and destinations in advance because those lists may change internally as we watch the response to transfers. We'll be monitoring populations and how many players are transferring, which will inform our decisions about further origin and destination servers. We won't be changing the destination on you once it's announced, we just don't want to announce a pair too early.

-Many guild leaders have contacted us with their concerns about coordinating their guild members in preparation for the free character transfer service and I wanted to take some time to explain how this process will work.

In order to ensure an optimal playing experience for every server, we’ll be offering direct transfers from one origin server to a pre-selected destination server. This means that the destination server will already be selected for the origin server. As mentioned in our blog post, all server types and languages will be respected. You will not find your PvE characters transferred to a PvP server, or vice versa.

Therefore, all guild members on the origin server will be eligible to transfer to the same destination server, ensuring that the guild has the opportunity to stay together.

As we mentioned in our blog, the character transfer service will be made available gradually, starting with a small number of origin servers and adding more until all servers eligible for transfer are available in the service. We know everyone is excited for the opportunity to transfer their characters, but it is critical that we do this gradually to ensure both a smooth transfer as well as a great player experience on the destination servers.

Eligible servers will be listed as they become available for transfers at www.swtor.com/transfer, which will go live on Tuesday. This is to prevent potential server load issues.

Please note that we will not be dividing the population of an origin server onto multiple destination servers for this free character transfer process.

Additionally, players need not worry about rushing to transfer as free character transfers between selected servers will remain available for as long as it is needed to help balance server populations naturally. Rest assured that if we ever decide to stop this free character transfer service, players will be given plenty of advanced notice.

-Our overall goal is that destination servers will have a higher active population than origin servers that are able to transfer to them

-As mentioned in the blog post, we will be maintaining server types. So it will be RP-PvP to RP-PvP.

-We do have more information about character transfers coming, and we'll post a detailed FAQ that will answer many specific questions. As for being concerned about not being able to transfer to the same server as your son during free transfers, you don't have anything to worry about. Each server that becomes eligible for transfers will have just one destination server, and you'll be able to move all your characters from your origin server to that destination server. We'll announce these servers at the start of the program and then will add more as the program continues (and you'll be able to see all the information on www.swtor.com/transfer starting on the 12th), and we'll make sure to let everyone know what servers are available and when.

-On Tuesday (the 12th), we'll be starting the free character transfer service - if your server becomes eligible for transfer, you'll be able to move all your characters to the selected destination server free of charge.

-If your server becomes eligible for free character transfers, you'll be able to move all your characters from that server onto the destination server.

-We do have more information about character transfers coming, and we'll post a detailed FAQ that will answer many specific questions. As for being concerned about not being able to transfer to the same server as your son during free transfers, you don't have anything to worry about. Each server that becomes eligible for transfers will have just one destination server, and you'll be able to move all your characters from your origin server to that destination server. We'll announce these servers at the start of the program and then will add more as the program continues (and you'll be able to see all the information on www.swtor.com/transfer starting on the 12th), and we'll make sure to let everyone know what servers are available and when.

-On Tuesday (the 12th), we'll be starting the free character transfer service - if your server becomes eligible for transfer, you'll be able to move all your characters to the selected destination server free of charge.

-If your server becomes eligible for free character transfers, you'll be able to move all your characters from that server onto the destination server.

-There will be a full FAQ published on Tuesday to answer most of your questions, but I wanted to go ahead and answer these two.

1. Due to a variety of factors (including the naming and re-naming process after transferring characters), this was deemed to be the most efficient method in assuring that Guilds retain their Guild Banks on the new server.

2. Yes, you will have to:Remove all items & credits from the Guild Bank.
Disband the Guild.
Transfer to the new server and reform the Guild.
Contact Customer Service to re-establish the Guild Bank and Guild Bank tabs.

Hopefully that answers your question.

-"In order to ensure an optimal playing experience for every server, we’ll be offering direct transfers from one origin server to a pre-selected destination server. This means that the destination server will already be selected for the origin server. As mentioned in our blog post, all server types and languages will be respected. You will not find your PvE characters transferred to a PvP server, or vice versa.

Therefore, all guild members on the origin server will be eligible to transfer to the same destination server, ensuring that the guild has the opportunity to stay together.

Please note that we will not be dividing the population of an origin server onto multiple destination servers for this free character transfer process."

With this information, you can see that you do not need to transfer at the same exact time.

-"Additionally, players need not worry about rushing to transfer as free character transfers between selected servers will remain available for as long as it is needed to help balance server populations naturally. Rest assured that if we ever decide to stop this free character transfer service, players will be given plenty of advanced notice."

As this thread is focused on the discussion of merging servers we are going to ask that you join a previously existing thread on this topic. This will help us to consolidate discussion on this topic and keep the forums organized for the community.

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The statements and opinions expressed on these websites are solely those of their respective authors and do not necessarily reflect the views, nor are they endorsed by Bioware, LucasArts, and its licensors do not guarantee the accuracy of, and are in no way responsible for any content on these websites.